NFL Dawgs - 2017 Week One
While Georgia fans were going crazy up in South Bend, many former Dawgs began the new NFL season.
We start with the NFL’s highest paid player, Matthew Stafford. Stafford’s first pass for the Detroit Lions did not go as planned as Justin Bethel of the Arizona Cardinals picked it off and ran it back 82 yards for the score. The rest of the game went well for Stafford as his team won 35-23. The former Bulldog went 29-for-41 passing for 292 yards with four touchdown passes. It was the 11th time in his pro career that Stafford has thrown at least four touchdown passes in a game. Here is a breakdown on touchdown passes and how the Lions fare as a result:
Matthew Stafford: Career Games in NFL with TD Passes
Todd Gurley is still struggling to get his running game going although he did score a touchdown for the Los Angeles Rams in their 46-9 blowout over the Indianapolis Colts. Gurley had just 40 yards rushing on 19 attempts. He had five receptions (56 yards) which were tied for the most in the game by any player.
Two other former Bulldogs had receptions last week aside from Gurley. A.J. Green caught five passes for 74 yards as his Cincinnati Bengals were shut out by the Baltimore Ravens 20-0. Chris Conley of the Kansas City Chiefs had two receptions for 43 yards in the victory over the New England Patriots 42-27.
On the defensive side of things, Thomas Davis proved he still has it as he registered seven tackles and picked up a sack as the Carolina Panthers defeated the 49ers 23-3. Davis is approaching one thousand tackles in his NFL career (963) and now has 26 ½ sacks. Five-time Pro Bowler Geno Atkins of the Cincinnati Bengals copied Davis by recording seven tackles and a sack of his own. If you are talking about sacks, then Justin Houston of the Kansas City Chiefs is your man as he added two more to go along with his five tackles. It is the 16th time in his NFL career that he has at least two sacks in a game. Since joining the league in 2011, Houston is tied for third in sacks in that time period. Here are the top five:
Most Sacks in the NFL from 2011-2017
*** Sacks are just in this time period only
Here are all the former Georgia players who made tackles this past week whether on defense or special teams (or possibly on a turnover).
Tackles Made in Week One
Speaking of special teams, a couple former Dawgs had key numbers…
Blair Walsh of the Seattle Seahawks was a perfect 3-for-3 in field goals (32, 21, 41) and now has 136 in his career, which moves him in the top 100 of all-time at number 98.
Also on special teams, Isaiah McKenzie made his regular season pro debut with the Denver Broncos. The Human Joystick had three punt returns for 48 yards on Monday night with a long of 31 in the win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
David Andrews (Patriots), Clint Boling (Bengals), Cordy Glenn (Bills) and Ben Jones (Titans) started on the offensive line for their respective teams.
Ben Watson of the Baltimore Ravens started when the team opened up with a two-tight end formation against the Cincinnati Bengals. Ramik Wilson of the Kansas City Chiefs did not record a tackle this week nor did Charles Johnson of the Carolina Panthers.
There were several former Bulldogs that were on injured reserve, inactive or on the practice squad...
Injured Reserve - Brandon Boykin (Ravens), Quincy Mauger (Falcons), Keith Marshall (Redskins) and Malcolm Mitchell (Patriots).
Inactive - Tyler Catalina (Redskins), Reggie Davis (Browns), John Jenkins (Bears), Tavarres King (Giants), John Theus (49ers) and Shawn Williams (Bengals).
Practice Squad - Orson Charles (Chiefs) and Garrison Smith (Seahawks).
Here are some of the Matthew Stafford and the Lions highlights from week one courtesy of the NFL and FOX Sports. Stafford photo courtesy of Newsday.com
